Over the weekend (Sat. January 19, 2019) former NFL star Greg Hardy made his UFC debut. He stepped into the Octagon against Allen Crowder in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN+ 1 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. However, the fight didn’t end how fans expected. Heading into the fight, Hardy had knocked out each of his opponents in the first round.
Against Crowder, he wasn’t able to get the first round finish, instead getting taken down and put on his back for the first time in his career. Crowder attempted to do the same in the second round, but that’s when Hardy uncorked the illegal knee to Crowder’s head. The fight was waved off and Hardy was handed a loss via disqualification. Hardy looked like he was on his way to losing a decision if things continued to play out the way they were.
Some fans speculated that Hardy might have done it on purpose. Perhaps even out of frustration given Crowder was taunting him seconds before. Crowder spoke on “The MMA Hour” recently to give his thoughts on the matter. He simply blames inexperience for the mishap (via MMA Fighting):
“I don’t think he was looking for a way out,” Crowder said. “I think it’s more inexperience. He’s not been doing this very long. He stepped out to the side. I believe in his mind he thought … I know he knew he’s not allowed to throw that knee with me on the ground.
“But I think heated up in the heat of the moment, he just forgot for a split second and threw that knee trying to get that finish. He just made a mistake. Another mistake of many mistakes that he makes. But I don’t feel like he was trying to cop out of the fight.
“He’s a tough dude. I think it was just an inexperience kind of thing.”
